Hi, I just bought one of these, and I was surprised to find such vibrant colors in a hardy hibiscus. All the others I had seen previously were white or pastel shades. But your post was the only easily found item on Google! Here are some others I have found. I am surprised that much more publicity wasn't done for these plants. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/EP249 www.green-leaf-ent.com/vintage_hibiscus.pdf There is also a seed propagated series from another vendor: http://www.panamseed.com/plant_search.aspx I am wondering what your experience has been so far with this plant. Are the flowers really the shocking bright pink shown on the tag? None of the hibiscus at the store had an open bloom. It was a department store, and they tend to water their plants unevenly. I was disappointed at learning the short stature of the plants, but since my climate has mild winters, perhaps mine won't die to the ground. Good thing I ride the bus, because I almost came home with four different varieties! LOL Mary

Ed, thank you. We usually only get a week of snow, and seldom get a long freeze (knock wood & hope I don't jinx it for next year!) Think I'll plant some and save some - a little experiment. About the pinching - I've never done that, and I have a large patch of mature hibs. If I pinch them this year at 12" - 15", will they still bloom this year? (They're almost a foot tall right now.) Thanks!

Shanna, I do the same thing as Mike suggested (with ziplock bags) to root my hoyas, and I've had very good success. I only wet the soil initially, and then it stays moist throughout the whole rooting process....I mist inside the bag every other day or every 2 days. **Just make sure you poke holes in the bags so that you avoid rot or mold. I also use those huge ziplock bags (like for clothing) once in a while, and I'll put a bunch of hoyas in there to root. Seems to work the same as individual bags. Oh, and you don't "need" bottom heat to root in soil medium (as opposed to water), so don't worry if you don't have it. I've done it both ways, and as long as it's not Fall or Winter weather, you should be fine. Everyone has their own way to propagate, and you'll find a way that works well for you. I have tried water rooting over and over, and the only hoya that has ever formed roots without dying is H. multiflora. I probably had 1 or 2 others that have formed roots in water, but once they develop water roots it's tough to switch them over to soil medium. But there are many hoya growers who have lots of success water rooting, so you might want to give it a try. Good luck :) Gabi

Thanks, gg! "Your label strategy is really nice. Do you just print them out and laminate the paper afterward? " I'm not sure which labels you're referring to. The ones in the first shot were just typed in my photo editor when I realized I couldn't read the original labels in my photo. The labels in my pots are written on blank plastic labels that I bought on eBay. "I have to say that's the prettiest shot of the not macgregorii I've seen. It's growing very ornamentally for you - you must be giving it really good light." Thank you. It gets some protection from the polycarbonate and shade cloth on my greenhouse, but still gets quite a bit of natural light. I sometimes wonder if some Hoyas would do better outside for the summer. More light and air movement, but less humidity. I don't know. As long as they grow well and flower in the greenhouse it's probably not worth the effort to move them around. "Be sure to show us pictures if you make your own trellises. Knowing you, I'm sure they're going to put us all to shame. ;) Okay, well, at least me." Ha, don't count on it. I'm thinking of going to Home Depot and looking for some aluminum wire, or whatever strikes me, and seeing what I can come up with. I need to hurry though. My H. cv. Joy is starting to wind itself around one of its neighbors. I'll post a pic if the trellises are a success. -Chris